Criminal Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section (AFMLS)

Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS)

Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS)

About the Section

The Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) leads the Department’s asset forfeiture and anti-money laundering enforcement efforts. MLARS provides leadership by: (1) prosecuting and coordinating complex, sensitive, multi-district, and international money laundering and asset forfeiture investigations and cases; (2) providing legal and policy assistance and training to federal, state, and local prosecutors and law enforcement personnel, as well as to foreign governments; (3) assisting Departmental and interagency policymakers by developing and reviewing legislative, regulatory, and policy initiatives; and (4) managing the Department’s Asset Forfeiture Program, including distributing forfeited funds and properties to appropriate domestic and foreign law enforcement agencies and to community groups within the United States, as well as adjudicating petitions for remission or mitigation of forfeited assets. To this effect, MLARS is comprised of seven units and associated teams.

Bank Integrity Unit

The Bank Integrity Unit investigates and prosecutes complex, multi-district, and international criminal cases involving financial institutions and individuals who violate various federal statutes, including the Money Laundering Control Act, the Bank Secrecy Act, and economic and trade sanctions programs authorized by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The Unit’s prosecutions generally focus on banks and other financial institutions, including their officers, managers, and employees, whose actions threaten the integrity of the individual institution or the wider financial system.

International Unit

The International Unit is comprised of two teams. The International Assistance Team assists U.S. prosecutors in the restraint and forfeiture of assets located abroad, litigates in U.S. courts to assist foreign governments seeking restraint and forfeiture of assets in the United States, and authorizes certain actions to forfeit funds held in correspondent accounts. The International Assistance Team also represents the Department in multilateral organizations to raise international standards for combating financial crime and provides technical assistance to foreign governments on legislation, mutual legal assistance, and best practices in anti-money laundering and forfeiture. The Kleptocracy Team is responsible for implementing the Department’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative through investigation and litigation to recover the proceeds of foreign official corruption. The Initiative focuses on assets in the U.S. or which used the U.S. financial system.

Money Laundering and Forfeiture Unit

The Money Laundering and Forfeiture Unit investigates and prosecutes professional money launderers and gatekeepers who provide their services to serious criminal organizations, e.g., Mexican drug cartels; as well as individuals and entities using the latest and most sophisticated money laundering tools and techniques. The Money Laundering and Forfeiture Unit also litigates civil forfeiture cases for the Criminal Division and, in appropriate cases, in partnership with United States Attorneys’ Offices. It also provides support to the Division in cases involving significant or complex criminal forfeiture allegations. The Unit also serves as the Division’s experts on domestic forfeiture and, in this role, provides advice to other Division attorneys and United States Attorneys’ Offices.

Policy Unit

The Policy Unit leads the formation of policy, regulatory, and legislative changes to promote the use of money laundering and forfeiture as a law enforcement tool to combat organized criminal groups, take the profit out of crime, and further victim compensation, all while ensuring that the rule of law is strictly followed, civil liberties are protected, and our constitutional system is strengthened. The Policy Unit also develops and implements strategic initiatives related to money laundering and forfeiture. Finally, the Policy Unit represents the Section in various interagency and intergovernmental fora.

Program Management and Training Unit

The Program Management and Training Unit is responsible for several nationwide law enforcement initiatives, working groups, and programs, including the transfer of forfeited funds to victims of crime, the Equitable Sharing Program, and real property transfers. Each of these programs involves the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars to victims, as well as state and local law enforcement, and requires consistent nationwide policies and oversight to ensure that forfeited proceeds are distributed in accordance with the laws, regulations, and policies that govern them. The Unit is also responsible for the oversight and nationwide training of all federal prosecutors, agents, analysts, and support staff on asset forfeiture, money laundering, and financial investigations, which includes the development of curricula, training tools, and educational materials. In addition, the Unit is responsible for asset forfeiture and money laundering communications, including the development and publication of all asset forfeiture and money laundering publications.

Program Operations Unit

Program Operations Unit is responsible for all Remission, Restorations, Adoptions, Real Property transfers, large dollar sharing requests, Sharing program oversight/compliance and assistance in business enterprise/complex asset seizures and forfeitures. Program Operations is also responsible for incoming and outgoing funds control over seized and forfeited proceeds, Claims Administration in large victim pool cases and international asset recovery support to agents, prosecutors and the MLARS International Unit.

Special Financial Investigations Unit

The Special Financial Investigations Unit (SFIU) is comprised of attorneys, investigators and analysts who serve as MLARS’ experts on complex financial investigations. In this capacity, the unit supplements the resources of our law enforcement partners to conduct complex financial investigations in conjunction with the MLARS’ litigating units. The Unit also serves as MLARS’ targeting unit, helping the litigating units to set investigative priorities. The SFIU is MLARS’ liaison to the interagency operational law enforcement centers and the intelligence community, and coordinates MLARS’ classified litigation.